


the dirt in which our roots may grow

by kobattsun



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hoshi Meguri (IDOLiSH7), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, just brief slice of life with simple domestic moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 10:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16871203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobattsun/pseuds/kobattsun
Summary: Carnelian realizes he never really appreciated the flow of time in his life.Now each hour of the day has a different meaning and its own value: he knows, for example, that in the morning he will be able to wake up slowly, rolling around in a much smaller bed than his royal one - but less cold, less pretentious. He also knows that every time he'll find the bed at the other side of the room already empty, because Lazu always wakes up before him to cook breakfast for both of them, since despite the years spent together he hasn’t lost the habit to take care of him, spoil him, regardless of his constant scolding.





	the dirt in which our roots may grow

**Author's Note:**

> because im a weak loser and i dont know what i wrote but okay  
> (important note!! but! i don't see hoshimegu!characters and i7canon!characters as the same thing)
> 
> also, thank you @nishanightray, such a super cool beta reader and a saint

_We will call this place our home,_

_The dirt in which our roots may grow._

_Though the storms will push and pull,_

_We will call this place our home._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, years later, Carnelian still wakes up suddenly at night, his heart beating too fast and his breath too short. He wakes up with images of spacious dark rooms and steps echoing in the empty hallways, still feeling the cold sensation of the bare stones against his skin - stones that won't ever be warm like a body, or alive, no matter how brilliant they are or how much light they reflect.

In truth, Carnelian has spent a lifetime waking up alone, trapped in a prison made of crystal.

 

 

 

Leaving the castle and abdicating was a true relief from his point of view: it gave him a chance to start all over again - perhaps not succeeding completely, but at least trying to - and to learn things that he didn't think he would have been able to find on a planet immersed in an endless night like Alba is.

He discovered, for example, that the colors around him change every season, that the world outside the royal palace is not crystallized, but flowing and changing slowly day by day.

He notices that, during the periods of the year in which their territories are less dark, the light reflects on the water's surface, creating different shades of color depending on the time of the day. He finds out that the minerals growing copiously on their land have warmer colors when they refract an inartificial light, too.

Carnelian supposes he would look like an idiot if someone heard him - Coda definitely has travelled for so long that everything would seem normal and trivial to him -, but those are all things that he has only ever seen on books. He’s never been able to enjoy them on those few times he has left the planet, because of a war or another.

Carnelian realizes he never really appreciated the flow of time in his life.

Now each hour of the day has a different meaning and its own value: he knows, for example, that in the morning he will be able to wake up slowly, rolling around in a much smaller bed than his royal one - but less cold, less pretentious. He also knows that every time he'll find the bed at the other side of the room already empty, because Lazu always wakes up before him to cook breakfast for both of them, since despite the years spent together he hasn’t lost the habit to take care of him, spoil him, regardless of his constant scolding.

"... But I'm the first one to wake up, my Ki--", he stops when the boy sends him a glare, pouting his hair messy like a stray cat. Then he corrects himself.

"...Carnelian... _sama_. It just seemed pointless to me to not do anything. I don't mind cooking for you, too," Lazu hesitates, nervously looking around, and Carnelian knows that the boy needs some more time to get used to their new accommodation. They both must learn, step by step.

"Next time wake me up, too," the young man replies and thoroughly breathes in the sweet aroma of the tea - one of those Coda brought him as a gift during his last visit, although he doesn't remember which planet they come from. "You should teach me how to cook. It would be easier for both of us to take care of the housework then."

They stay quiet for a few seconds, then Lazu nods and walks closer, joining him to have breakfast as well, as suggested by the way Carnelian slaps his hand impatiently on the table.

However, despite this, living this way isn't unpleasant at all.

 

 

 

Sometimes, he thinks that what happened between them is strange as well, because of course he didn't expect to get - or deserve - a second chance. Instead now, when Carnelian has nightmares and suddenly wakes up, he's never alone: Lazu is always there and, somehow, it became something familiar, something that goes without saying.

Lazu cleaning up the kitchen, collecting the laundry, reading quietly on the rocking chair under the porch. Or, like now, Lazu sitting at the desk in their bedroom, intent on replying to the letters they occasionally receive - usually, Erin's letters, full of sketches and drawings.

In the warm light of the lantern, Lazu’s face has soft and kind features, finally free from any mask or weight that the boy has worn for years.

"...Lazu," Carnelian calls him in a feeble whisper despite the rain rumbling in the background, because he knows that the other will hear him anyway, always. As he turns around, the messy locks of his fringe slip across his eyes - Carnelian wonders how it would feel to be able to sink his fingers into them.

He doesn't say a word, nor breathes for what it seems like an eternity to him too, then he just extends his hand on the edge of the mattress, patting it in a clear request of coming closer. Although the bed is small and they barely fit in, Lazu doesn't complain: he sits with infinite softness and with an equally boundless reverence he lays down beside the one who will never cease to be his King – yet, now there's something different, a just barely tangible tenderness, as light as a veil tickling the skin.

Carnelian isn't accustomed to such intimacy with other people and he wonders if he ever will be.

They both must learn, step by step - in the end, though, the world changes and so they do too. Carnelian reflects that the world outside of the crystal walls that locked him up is not so bad - that despite the pain and evil that plague it, it still deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Lazu looks absent-mindedly out of the window, his features relaxed and his hair scattered on the pillow, likely wondering for how long the rain will keep up. Carnelian feels him tremble and freeze when he rolls around and rests the head against his shoulder with a sigh.

"You can move away, if you want to," he murmurs, opening his eyes and looking for any sign of discomfort in Lazu’s posture.

After a few seconds, though, Lazu shakes his head, pressing the forehead against his own. The young noble notices a slight blush blooming on the tips of Lazu’s ears - this is fascinating too.

"No... I want to stay like this for a bit."

Lazu's hair are softer than they seem, that's the only thing Carnelian can think of while falling asleep again.

Despite the light in the room is extremely dim in comparison to the ones at the castle, it is so much warmer than it not even comparable.

When Carnelian wakes up on the next morning, the warmth’s still lingering in his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> i still blame hoshimegu bc i didnt want this i mean im happy and proud of all my new twelve space sons but wtf banri wtf.......... i didnt want to love them so much............ wtf.......
> 
> (and not less important, i blame Sleeping at last too, because "North" is such a gentle song and im not okay, thanks)


End file.
